Making Memories Monday: Short and Sweet, but GRAND CANYON!

Things to do Before I Die, #3A: Visit the Seven Natural Wonders of the World, Grand Canyon

Well, you sure haven’t seen a checkmark in awhile! In fact, I feel like I’ve achieved quite a few checkmarks during my year-ish long break, and I plan to update this blog with them in time.

This was April 2014, which is really indicative of just how long it’s been since I’ve blogged on a regular basis.

I’m gonna say this, and I’m sure to get some eye rolls, but I have to say that my hubby agreed: the Grand Canyon wasn’t so “grand” to me. It was more like the Meh, It’s Okay Canyon. Proverbial big hole in the ground. And we were there for four days, so we had plenty of time to get different angles and colors and times of the day. Still, just meh. In fact, this trip was part of a multi-day (I want to say two weeks? I don’t remember) vacation where we visited stops from southern Arizona all the way up to southern Utah, and I would say other stops were more exciting and satisfying (some highlights included the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, BK’s for a Sonoran hot dog, Flagstaff Public Library, Lowell Observatory–where Pluto was discovered, and National Bridges National Monument in Utah–the first certified Dark Sky Park).

That being said, I am glad to check off one more thing on my Things to do Before I Die list, and I was also glad to see the more beautiful and fun parts of the canyon: Horseshoe Bend (technically the beginning of the canyon, but, in my opinion, so much more beautiful than the main part of the canyon that all the tourists visit), the bookstores and libraries, and the historical hotels. Hubby geeked out on all the fossils and geological treasures.

I don’t have much more to say at the moment, and I’m actually feeling kinda lazy, so I’ll just let the pictures and captions speak for themselves.

So this doesn’t COMPLETELY describe my experience (I was actually part of the 3% that actually hike INTO the canyon, rather than drive the perimeter loop), but hilarious nonetheless.Scene from the observation deck.Early morning (and chilly!) sunrise.Walking through Bright Angel Trail

Fossil!Rest stop.Gorgeous purple plant was a nice break from the warm fall colors of the canyon.Even though I didn’t bring my dog, I was displeased by this sign. (I’m positive it was there for a very good reason, though!)Another heart-shaped rock.Grand Canyon squirrel!